


Chaos Catalyst

by Neera Silvertongue (Zesraer)



Category: Sanctuary (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-02
Updated: 2014-06-02
Packaged: 2018-02-03 04:57:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1732001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zesraer/pseuds/Neera%20Silvertongue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An abnormal is found and raised from childhood by the Cabal. Used to the control of vampires and their cruel ways, she fails to notice that she has fallen out of the hands of one set of monsters into the arms of another. As she becomes the brutal enforcer of the Cabal's whims, and more specifically Dana Whitcomb's, she begins to understand what she has become. Can Magnus save her?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ice, Ice and More Ice: A Beginning

I am choosing to recount my life to this point. I have lived longer than most and find that the lessons I have learned should be shared. This is a story of growth, of false beliefs, the harder truths and true saving graces. It is about the trust formed within families, betrayals that break that trust and how those who are not your blood may become family. I look at my past now and am proud of what I have become, as well as the accomplishments of my family and friends. I was lost before I met them, and it caused many mistakes to happen on my part. I hope you will lend a friendly ear to my tale of change and personal awakening. It begins with cold, ice and the first contact I had had with humanity in years. I was awed by the progression and power of this race. When I went into my slumber, they were surviving on the scraps of the vampires, now they ruled the world. With an iron fist in fact, but I was blinded by my awe and I ignored the horrors humanity was capable of. But my eyes were opened, and with the realization of humanity's violence came a light of hope. For not all humans were intolerant and some fought for us. This is my story.

Light barely reaches me through the ice, weak and tinted blue by my cold refuge. I hear cracks and creaks from above, not outside the norm but for the fact that they are slightly larger and louder than normal. Strange humming vibrates through the ice, pressing at my ears. For the first time in, decades maybe centuries for I had given up count, I felt cold. Not from the ice, for it had long since ceased affecting me, but from fear. The ice cradles me in its comforting embrace, but something tries to pry at its grasp, to take me from its sanctuary. If I could shudder I would, I fear it is what drove into hiding, the vampires that had caused the ruin of my race. They had terrorized the short span of years before my slumber, my free willed entombment. One of my kind had to survive, even if the others did not. My parents, they lead the revolt but died at the hands of those murderers, and then the others strived to keep me alive. So few of the strong remained. Kali had promised to wake me when it was time, but these were not her vibrations, these were foreign. These could be malicious. I lie in the ice thinking that if the ice released me now, I would fight. I would be a small ball of fury and claws and teeth, my abilities were untrained but my body still could fight. But even as I reveled in the imagined revenge for my people, the ice still retained its ancient hold. So I sat in wait, hoping for freedom while fearing the noises that approached.

The sunlight that filtered down to me had increased in brightness by tenfold by the time I could distinguish faces. I altered my features, shifting them to look more like the humans. In times past I had no need to hide my appearance except for espionage missions but now I thought perhaps the fur and scales I had so prized, the ones showing my family heritage, might scare those above me. I did not know how much time had passed since I had come here, since I began my solitude. A figure came into view above me, its figure still blurred by the ice. They run their hand over the ice, right above my face. A jerk, and an opened mouth. They yell something, I feel the vibrations and try to recognize the language but can't. The large vibrations stop and I relax, relieved. As they neared, I had gotten a headache. Each vibration of the ice had echoed through my body making it feel like my skull was near shattering point. Another figure comes into view, this one sturdier looking less lithe than the first. I assume it to be male and the other female, he hands her tools of some sort, and slowly small noises reach my ears. The sounds of chipping, endlessly at my prison and only by the female. No others stray closer, I take her to be in charge. Her face clears and I realize I had been right about her gender. Her fur, I mentally correct myself, hair is a darker brown a few shades lighter than that strange bitter treat that father brought home from his trip to ask for Quetzalcoatl's aid in the war, now what was it? It was mixed with chilies cultivated in the area, it was... xocolatl made from cocoa beans if I remember right.

A touch of fabric breaks me from my reverie. The woman's hand, covered in fabric to keep warm I think, grazes my fingertips. She smiles and begins to work faster. Time passes, the sun has set by the time I can move anything but around midnight I find myself able to turn my head. I also have free movement of my arms, as she works on freeing my legs the woman speaks to me, comforting me in a language I have never spoken. I try to make contributions but fail.

She looks at me, staring into my eyes. "You are awake, that is good. Can you understand little one?"

I pause listening to her, the flow and cadence of the language seem to be based off of one that was picking up popularity when I was just beginning my sleep. It sounded closer to this thing called Latin than the language I knew.

"Annum?"

"Annum, do you mean year? Xix nonaginta quattour." She smiles at me, I frown. 1994? I had been sleeping much longer than I had thought. No wonder I saw no vampires, I had been asleep for thousands, not hundreds of years. The vampires and their empire were in the middle of their rise when I hid. They had began their empire in the valley of the Nile when I fled. But I nod. "Year 1994. Serus, sese."

"Yes we understand you are old. That is why I and the Cabal came searching for you. We found ancient documents, they lead us to you. We need your help, we need to be strong, fortis. Now what is your name, nomen?"

I nod at her comments, and respond " Name Inara."

"Hello Inara. I am Dana, Dana Whitcomb."

That was how I met the first family member I knew and how this whole mess started. That was how I started on the path I am today, the path that brought me to Helen and Ashley. My true family.


	2. An Unusual Upbringing

Hello again dear listener. I see you have returned to hear more of my story. I believe the next story I have to tell takes place a few years after the first. Not much of significance takes place between the two I fear, just basic life. As I recount my tale remember I was young, and easily deceived by the humans of this world.

I stand in a room, the bright lights glaring. It seems to be a training facility of some sort, I can see Dana above me watching through a window. Her eyes flicker to the door that stands before me, from which scratching sounds emerge. Something was behind it, something that desperately wanted to get free, to find out what awaited it on my side of the door. Suddenly I was not so confident anymore, now I was frightened. I trusted Dana but the door before me sent shivers down my spine. I didn't like it, and looked up at her in the window, pleading with my eyes that she let me out of this place. She ignored me, even turned her back on me, reaching for the switch board that I knew was up in that little room from experience.  
I had been training in this room for a few years now, since I was deemed old enough to learn a trade. Dana had decided that with my "unusual heritage", her words not mine, I would be a useful enforcer. A protector of important members of the organization known as the Cabal. That is not to say she neglected my mental training as well. It was made sure that I learned any and everything that could even be potentially useful to the Cabal and myself. I had learned much about this new world in the short amount of time I had resided among the Cabal but nothing that I had learned in my past or present prepared me for what lie behind that door.

The intercom above me crackled on and I heard Dana's voice loud and clear through it. "This is your final test. Upon its completion you will have proven yourself a worthy member of the Cabal and will have made all of us who have raised you proud." I can see her beaming down at me from above. She definitely took pride in my progress, after all she was the one who had brought me into the Cabal. And together we had both reaped the rewards that stemmed from her actions. I received the training and teaching necessary to function in this new world and she was promoted. I would not fail her here. I gave a nod and she must have hit the switch to open the door because it began to creak open. "Inara be ready. This is not a simple sparring session. This creature will kill you, it hates all things Cabal. It betrayed us, went rogue if you will. If you pass this test, your job within the Cabal will be to track down such creatures and take care of them. Either return them to us reformed or end them if they refuse. You face one of our greatest sentries, a Keeper of the Dead."

I turn and a shiver goes down my spine for before me stands a figure much similar in appearance to the Grim Reaper. Right down to the skull for a face. It snarls at me and charges, claws deadly and ready to kill. I barely dodge the attack, the claws rending a tear in the fabric of my uniform. On closer inspection, a few droplets of blood begin to well up from shallow but painful slashes on my abdomen. This creature did mean business, those claws were not dull in the least. It began to turn 'round for another attack, analyzing my movements. It knew it had drawn blood, that I was weakened. I clutch my side and return its stare as it begins to circle. I remembered mention of the Keepers, elite fighters of the Cabal. They had always been what I had assumed to be the Cabal's enforcers but then what would that make me? The creature feints an attack, testing my reaction time. Obviously I wasn't worth attacking yet but I answered my question. Target Practice. I shuddered and watch the bipedal thing circle me. I needed to end this, bleeding too much would result in my death. The floor beneath me was already getting a bit slick with my blood. Normally there was some kind of weapon within this room, guns with rubber bullets, padded swords or knives, even staves. But tonight there was nothing which made no sense. The Cabal had wasted money and precious resources training me, surely they did not wish for me to die here. To a traitor no less. The very idea made my blood boil, and I couldn't help but let out a bit of a growl. Despite the situation, I blushed shamefully. Dana had drilled it into my head that I needed to act human, growling was very abnormal like and thus beast like. It was in poor taste she told me, not something a respectable young lady would do.

The growl did remind me however that I didn't need human weapons to fight. I may not have grown into the adult abilities of my kind but I could return my appearance back to the way it was, if only slightly. I would have teeth and claws then, I could survive this. I let my features relax, not enough to regain fur and scale but enough for my nails to lengthen into claws, and my teeth to sharpen enough to bite. The Keeper must have sensed the change even before it begun, for it attacked moments after I relaxed. This time it aimed to kill, and did not waste time with an attempt at any less than vital areas. One clawed hand aimed for my head, the other for my chest. A more skillful dodge than last time resulted in a slight graze on my chest but no damage to my head. Feeling a tad woozy from blood loss, I stumbled and the beast took its chance. However it left itself open for attack as well, just as I had surmised when I had faked the stumble. After countering the rushed charge, I used the beast's own momentum to drive a hand up underneath the skull mask it wore. Blood coated my arm, hot and thick and the beast dropped to the floor. Unfortunately it brought me down with it. A hulking mass of dead Keeper lie on top of an exhausted me. I tried to shifted it but soon gave up. Dropping my head down to the floor I gave an exasperated sigh, I raised my free hand to indicate I was the victor and still alive before passing out.

I awoke to the jostling of the team tasked with removing the corpse of the Keeper. Well that and a medical crew for me. Dana was right there beside them. "Very good Inara, very good. You have shown that you were trained well. Welcome to the Cabal, officially this time."

I give a weak smile "So this is every day for me now huh? Taking out the big bads?"

"You will still need to remain on top of your schooling, but yes. You are our last resort, our top enforcer. You are what we turn to when our elite fighters go rogue now. You have proven yourself through combat, you can manage this task. But you must keep your mind equally trained, so you may outsmart them as well. You will not be simply tracking down dumb Abnormals, but some of the smarter minds of our time. For recruitment of course." She gives a wink and a feral smile. "I will leave you to the doctors now, I expect you in the meeting tomorrow morning. Injuries are not an excuse, your presence is mandatory. And don't skip your classes today either." She walks off with a wave and I roll my eyes and give my second exasperated sigh of the hour. No rest for the wicked I guess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So in addressing a review with a valid question (( from a separate site )), Inara isn't immortal (( At least in my current plans for the story )) her aging was arrested due to the fact she was frozen in ice. Her lifespan is still undetermined, I know I compared her species to Kali in Chapter One but I don't know how far the comparison goes currently. Her aging is slower than a human's, when she was found she appeared to be ten, at this point she is roughly sixteen in appearance. Her aging will slow as she approaches her mid twenties. Her species has a childhood developmental stage similar to humans, the rest of the stages are still up in the air for length however they will be longer than vanilla humans.
> 
> Sins and Echos


	3. A Rude Awakening

I was sleeping when the initial call came, too tired from training to answer my summons. It was a bad choice, I should have known she would be mad, that things were serious to warrant me being called. I instead decided to doze for a few minutes longer. It was a mistake, being dragged out of bed by a member of security is never fun. No matter what my status within the Cabal guaranteed me, a full night's sleep just was not a perk. Nor was a gentle awakening.

The security grunt was not in a good mood, that much was clear to my fuzzy thought processes as he pulled me down the hallway. His grip was a tad too tight, I murmured a half jumbled phrase about having enough bruises, followed by a threat about what would happen to him if he caused me anymore pain.

He chuckled "I was told to get you up. You may be Whitcomb's little pet, but remember you are still a monster to the rest of us. Few of us would hesitate to put you down if the need arises."

I hold back a hiss, and jerk my arm away. Which was another bad choice, I was still very sleepy and off balance. I stumbled and my escort laughed, not bothering to keep his disdain a secret anymore. Rubbing the blurry sleep from my eyes I continue on, trying to ignore my companion. The area of the compound we were entering was relatively unknown to me, I rarely left the training and experimental quarters.

We move upward slowly, passed levels I had rarely seen in years. Most of the labs I trained in were on basement levels, we were heading to the top of the complex. I shiver, this really had to be serious, only upper level members of the Cabal were permitted up on those levels. These were top security places, where very few with the clearance to enter them. I had been a member of the Cabal for years, one of their trained enforcers and yet, I had never been permitted to its highest levels. Well, until now apparently. We had yet to stop climbing, and my escort was growing tired of stairs. He lead me towards the elevators. I hesitate again, and he growls pulling me forward. I didn't want to go in, the enclosed space was terrifying after being enclosed in ice for years. I still had yet to get over my intense fear of being confined since being freed.

But I follow anyway, this man would not see me break with fear. I would not hear more from him, the fact that he felt he was superior to me already was rankling my nerves. I step into the small space, taking a deep breath as he pressed one of the higher buttons on the door panel. Great, trapped in the small box of death with a man whom I disliked for quite a few floors yet.

My companion became more serious as the floor numbers increased, not interest in teasing me any longer. My sense of foreboding increased with his tension. It was no longer just the abnormal in the elevator with him that was upsetting his behavior and that alone was unsettling. Paired with my already fraying nerves, and it was amazing that I did not go into a claustrophobia induced breakdown right then and there. But that wouldn't do me any good, my companion would probably have left me, deciding that the girl he was sent to fetch just wasn't worth the effort to get her to her destination. And from what I could see, getting me to my destination was a very important and time sensitive task. Otherwise any rational person would have taken me via the stairs.

Finally the bell pings, indicating we had reached our floor. I try not to fidget as the door opens, restraining my wish to bolt out of the elevator as the doors open. I take a deep breath and try to portray a calm that I do not feel. My companion ushers me toward an open doorway, it would appear we were meeting in one of the conference rooms. I briefly wondered who needed me this morning before passing across the threshold. I suck back a gasp as I see the gathered officials of the Cabal seated before me, Dana at the head of the table.

"Inara, how nice of you to join us." Dana's voice rings out softly. To many people, her tone would not be threatening, but to me I knew I was being warned never to be as late as I currently was again. I resisted the urge to shrink back into the shadows of the door, and simple nod apologetically.

"I apologize, I did not realize the need for my presence was so great. I will not make the mistake again."

She gives a cold smile, and I realize I would pay for my absence later. Yet she turned back to the gathered members of the ruling board of the company. "As I was saying before our truant guest arrived, one of our secure facilities was attacked an hour ago. We have yet to determine the extent of the damage incurred at the site but surveillance contact was lost. We fear the worst for the Northern Scottish facility."

I narrow my eyes, realizing where this little chat was going. "When do I leave?"

"Why do you assume you are going Inara? Quite frankly your dedication has come into question today," Dana retorts.

I turn to address the board of directors, choosing not to face Dana at the moment. Another choice I would pay for later but right now we did not have time for the current argument. "Was this not what I was trained for? I am your enforcer, chosen for my talents in combat as well as my abilities to clean up loose ends. You have sent me to track down rogues in the past, to infiltrate the homes of our enemies, to eliminate threats. How is this any different?"

Seeing no response was forthcoming, I continue. "If what you say is true Dana, we do not have time to waste in argument. I should leave forthright, and I pray you have a team ready. If there is any hope to recover the site and what it contains we must leave now."

Dana nods "Your means of travel are ready, as is your team. You are dismissed."

I nod and walk out, not surprised to notice that she follows me shortly after. "We will discuss your tardiness after your return and your debriefing. It will not be tolerated again, nor will your casual addressing of the members of the board. You will never address me so again, I am your superior and it reflects poorly upon me when you do."

I nod, wishing this discussion was not taking place now. "Understood ma'am. I apologize for my familiarity in addressing you, it will not be repeated. Now I ask your pardon, for I must take my leave. As you said previously, there is an important matter to attend to."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading my work, I currently have no beta for my writings only a few friends who are willing to read over things and even then they may miss a few errors. I will try to update this work frequently, but I am a tad busy so bear with me.
> 
> As for the idea behind this work, it kinda started after the Cabal arch and really took shape after the Kali arch. I appreciate any and all feedback.
> 
> Thank you for reading,  
> Sins and Echoes


End file.
